Family Feud
by Sweet-ness-ness
Summary: Destiny Carlson has to move to Forks temporarly to help Bella with the wedding. But when she makes new friends, she learns a lot. Maybe too much. And on top of it all, Jake's life is in danger. But is Destiny too late to find help?
1. Arrival

_**DESTINY CARLSON**_

"But _Mom!_" I protested; it was futile. "I don't _want_ to go to Forks."

"Nonsense, Destiny. Your cousin Isabella liked it there."

I crossed my arms. My 'cousin' Bella wasn't even really my cousin. Just because Phil married Renee, I was stuck with being Bella's 'cousin'.

"_Mooooooooooooommm!_"

"You're going. End of story."

"But they only have _one _bathroom and her and Charlie already share it! And where am I supposed to sleep?"

"I'm sure Isabella will be more than happy to share her room with you. And Isabella and Charlie don't have any troubles sharing the bathroom; why should the three of you? Relax. You're only spending three weeks there."

"Th-th-THREE WEEKS?!"

Three weeks with Bella and her oh-so-creepy fiancé, Edward and his totally weird family. I folded my arms across my chest, but unfolded them – the seatbelt started to dig uncomfortably into my neck.

"When do I leave?" I sighed.

"Saturday."

* * *

Bella and Edward picked me up at the airport. Edward toed all my bags behind him as we walked out of the airport.

A group of russet-skinned boys stood in jeans and loose T-shirts stood near a terminal, rushing a boy who was pulling two bags behind him and another girl behind him. Both the girl and the boy shared some resemblance – I assumed they were brother and sister – and were also russet skinned.

"Bella. Who are they?" I asked, looking over at the boys. Edward audibly clenched his jaw. I filed away his reaction to the group for further…_use._

"Those are a few of the Quileute boys from La Push," she explained, carefully controlled remembrance in her voice. I wondered why that was for a fleeting moment, but dismissed it. If I was going to be as unpleasant as possible, I was going to need to start as soon as possible. I felt eyes on my back, but dismissed it again.

I had more bags than the luggage department at Dillard's, but somehow, Super-Edward managed to fit it all in the trunk of his shiny silver Volvo. It was an hour-long drive with Mr. and Mrs. Creepo back to Forks, where my mom probably called to make sure that I would be dragged along wherever Bella wanted to go…

You know – every fourteen-year-old girl _loves _to spend her summer before High School being dragged along with her engaged eighteen-year-old _acquaintance_ that everyone thinks is related to her, but isn't. Man, was I going to have a wonderful summer. Kidding.

"Why couldn't Charlie pick me up again?" I whined from the back seat.

I didn't get an answer. I heaved my heavy backpack up to the seat and dug around for it. I know what you're thinking: its summer. Why does she have a backpack? It just so happens that I have an obsession with reading. I dug through the thick stash of books to find one that I was looking for. I cracked it open, sliding my backpack off the seat and on to the floor.

"What are you reading?" Edward asked in a voice like velvet.

I looked at him suspiciously. He did this every time I was with him and Bella – force conversation.

I raised one eyebrow, replied with a quick "A Wizard's Dilemma," and went back to reading.

It's not that I didn't _like _Bella and Edward – they were just weird. They always looked kind of shifty, like they had a secret to hide or something. And I couldn't help being in a bad mood whenever I was with them because being with them consisted of spending more than a week in the wretched rainy town that is Forks, Washington. Not that Kirksville didn't have rain; it just didn't rain much in the summer. Summers should be a time for lying around on a beach in the sun and trying to get a tan.

Of course, '_trying' _being the key word there. I don't burn, tan, or have any visible reaction to the sun. I don't even think I've gotten a freckle since I was five and any freckle I _do_ have, you can't see because they've faded away. But that wasn't my problem. Even in winter, with much thanks to my friend Global Warming and water and air pollution, Kirksville doesn't get as cold as it used to. And, as much as I like the occasional shower, I hated the city of eternal torrential downpours that was Forks, Washington.

Unlike Bella – and I still don't see why she made that choice – I didn't _want_ to go to Forks. I never did. But since Phil and Renee got married, I was now being forced to spend a summer helping Bella prepare for her wedding. Wonderful.

I watched the trees fly by at what was defiantly faster than the speed limit.

"How fast are you going, Edward?" I asked calmly.

Again no answer. I scowled. Bella looked up to the rear-view mirror and frowned at me.

"Des, could you at least _try_ to enjoy this. How are you supposed to have a good time if you're not even trying?" Bella pleaded.

"It's _Destiny_ not _Des_. And I'm not planning on having a good time."

To tell you the truth, I really _wasn't. _What I was planning on doing, however, was sticking it through the three weeks, going to the beach every sunny day – if there were any when I was there – and complaining every chance I got in the vain hope that they would send me back home early.

"You should at least _try_, Destiny. No one's making you do anything. You could walk up to Port Angeles or something and shop, but if you don't have a good attitude, no one will take you. No one's sending you home, either." Edward said.

I flipped a brown curl out of my face and glanced at the LCD display – it was fifteen past nine, but back in Kirksville, it was fifteen past eleven. I was tired. On the sweep up, I saw Bella and Edward's intertwined fingers on her armrest.

"Didn't anyone tell you to drive with two hands?" I snapped.

He grinned and looked over at Bella. I counted to twenty-one-thousandths, waiting for the inevitable action of him looking back to the road before saying, "Edward! Didn't anyone tell you to keep your eyes on the road!? You're going upwards of a hundred miles per hour!"

He slowed down as we reached the town limits and pulled into Charlie's driveway. Edward helped Bella carry my stuff up. I didn't offer a hand to them. I walked in the door, slamming it behind me. Charlie was waiting for me just inside the front door, a smile plastered on his features. I suppose he _was_ good looking…about ten years ago.

Small town romance was probably contagious or something. That's the only thing that explains why Bella and Edward are getting married right out of High School.

"Hello Destiny," Charlie said warmly. "Is sleeping on the couch okay with you. Because we really don't have anywhere else. Sorry."

I sighed. "Yeah. It's fine," I said in a downtrodden voice. It's not like I was expecting anything better.

I yawned, totally jet-lagged.

"You tired?" Bella asked.

"What do you think?! Of course I'm tired," I snapped back, just a little bit harsher than I had before, but _way_ too harsh for what she deserved…which was none.

Her face fell a bit, but I didn't let my twinge of regret show on my features, and after my stuff was pushed into the living room corner, they left me alone to get a good night's sleep.

But sleep didn't come easily to me. The rain poured down in sheets and against the wall. I moaned and rolled to bury my face in the fabric of the couch. That didn't help much either, so I walked out onto the porch and into the rain.

I stood there for a few minutes, letting my clothes soak through. I spun around, my hands and arms fully extended, like the fifties girls did in the black and white movies. I stood out there on my own for a while, just reveling in the beauty of the place. I had never been able to do so before, but when you really got a chance to look at it, Forks was beautiful.

I looked around, at the borders of the forest. The shadow of a bear walked in the woods.

* * *

_**SETH CLEARWATER**_

"It's all you fault, you know," Leah blamed as we got ready for bed in the tiny room we were forced to share. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be a stupid wolf."

What the hell? Like I could help if those leeches lived so close to us. She had no reason to dump this all on me, but she did. I clenched my teeth, making my hands into fists. Mom was having a hard time since dad died and I didn't know if we could afford for me to destroy yet another pair of clothes and shoes. I wondered briefly if Leah had this effect on the others, and resigned to ask later, but soon had to focus again as the warmth gurgled up the back of my throat and the red washed over my eyes. I had to close my eyes and grit my teeth even tighter. I didn't want to do this now.

"Aww, what's wrong little brother?" Leah sneered. I had to fight twice as hard. It would be so much more relieving to go wolf on her right now, but that wouldn't be right. I wouldn't stoop myself to her level.

I finally got control over myself. It came easier than usual despite…

"And it's your fault dad died, too. You just _had_ to come home and tell him that you were a werewolf. I'm sure he expected it, but not so soon. It's all. Your. Fault."

I couldn't fight it then. My body started trembling. I ran over to the wall and punched out the glass in the window, slicing my arm open in several places. I didn't care. I could almost _hear_ Leah smirking as she watched me jump out the window and begin to shake off my shoes. Thank god I wasn't wearing socks.

I knew she would turn away when I got to my pants, but I never made it that far. I exploded into a wolf, giving Leah the much hated satisfaction of letting her see me fail. Only Sam was patrolling tonight, watching to make sure the infestation of the vampire army was thoroughly removed. He wouldn't let anyone else help.

_I thought I said no phasing – _

He broke off when he heard my disgruntled thoughts about Leah.

_Yeah, she gets to all of us just as bad, Seth. Don't worry about it._

But how could I not worry about it? I could hear the pain in his voice. The pain that imprinting caused him. Speaking of imprinting…

_Sam, how do you know if you've imprinted?_ I asked cautiously.

I could almost hear a smile in his voice, except for the fact that Sam never smiled.

_You think you've imprinted?_

_Uh…yeah. How do I know for sure?_

I couldn't stop thinking about her. That should have been a clue. I had only seen her for a few seconds and she didn't even turn around. And she was hanging out with Bella and that bloodsucker. Her face burned in my mind. The gently waving brown hair framing her ovular head, gently cascading down past her shoulders. Her blue eyes, sparkling despite the frown on full lips constantly on the verge of shifting into a pout. The nose turned up by a minuscule amount at the end, giving her a Victorian appearance. Her pale skin, devoid of any blemish or freckle, but also devoid of the stone coldness of a leech's body.

And then, without warning, I was running.

_You _did_. _Sam thought joyfully.

Seconds later, I was in front of the house I recognized. I had done guard duty so many times – had it only been a month?

A girl stood out in the front lawn, letting the rain soak through her pajamas. _Her_.

_Good for you squirt._ Sam thought. _Good for you._

_A/N: Well guys, that was the chapter. If you are reading this, even if you don't like it, please review and check out my other fanfiction (that is, if you like the Jonas Brothers). But if you don't, just stick here. I promise it'll get better and I'm afraid that I'm not the best writer. If you're on IMDb, check out Morgyn's story. It's amazing and she's such a good writer._

_I'll try to have another chapter up by the end of today (the 25th)._

_Read On,_

_Maddie_


	2. Attack

_**DESTINY CARLSON**_

"Destiny, I'm going to go over to Alice's and help with the bridesmaid's dresses," Bella told me as she headed towards the door, pulling on her light brown jacket. "Can you believe she doesn't have this done yet?" This time more to herself than me. "Wanna come?"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Saved by the bell," I muttered.

Bella didn't hear me, or, if she did, she didn't react in any way. She pulled open the door and Edward was standing there, blocking the sunlight – which there was today. Wow. Let's throw a party. Edward's here. Surprise surprise. Let's not. Edward and Bella just stood there for a moment, checking each other out.

_Don't throw up. Don't throw up._

"Ugh. Get a room."

Edward grinned for a reason I didn't understand. But, then again, maybe I didn't want to. Ugh.

_I think I just threw up a little_.

Edward grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her out the door. She pulled the door shut behind her and, shorter than should have been possible, I heard the purr of the Volvo pulling out of the driveway.

"No, I didn't want to go," I grumbled, scooping another spoonful of ice-cream out of the nearly-empty Ben and Jerry's carton.

With the other hand, I flipped through the channels on Charlie's TV. He had dish – nearly a thousand channels – but _nothing to watch_.

I stepped into the kitchen to throw away the empty ice cream carton and debated searching for more food. I dismissed it; eating out of boredom wasn't good for you. I hunted around for the notepad and scribbled a quick note on it.

'Gone to LaPush. Call my cell-phone if you need anything.'

I scrawled my cell phone number under the note as well as the time and grabbed a small blue purse from the counter, slipping on a pair of red flip-flops as I walked out the door. Regardless of the fact that the sun was out, it was chilly here. I dug through my purse for a pair of plastic, white rimmed sunglasses and pushed them onto my head, making a makeshift headband. I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket and jogged across the road in the direction of La Push.

I slowed to a fast walk as I headed to La Push. Last night, when it was raining, I didn't get a full chance to look at Forks. I glanced at the forest to one side of me and debated going in. The forest was so beautiful – almost hypnotizing. But I saw a small shadow moving a few feet away from me. Even though the shadow was that of a baby rabbit, the shadow reminded me of the shadow of the large bear I had seen in the woods last night. I made up my mind right then to never go into that forest alone.

I made it to the beach. I stayed there almost all day, watching the waves come in and out. It was more hypnotizing than the beautiful green of the forest. Before I even noticed what had happened, I was watching the low, setting sun set the sea on fire in a blaze of orange and yellow. The sight took my breath away.

* * *

_**SETH CLEARWATER**_

"Sam?" I asked during breakfast that morning.

"Yeah?" he replied, half-chewed scrambled eggs falling out of his mouth.

We were all sitting around Emily's table. 'We' being the pack – well, minus Jacob. Still no word from good ol' Jake. Nobody had heard from him since Leah chased him away. We're guessing he got far enough away that the communication didn't work anymore. Leah was absent as well. She hated eating with us. I have no idea where she ate all her food at, because it sure wasn't with us. She told us we had no manners one day and then stormed out.

I guess it looks 'like we were raised by a pack of wolves.' Get it? _Wolves?_

I don't see why Leah had to be so difficult. Emily had no problem with the wolves. Emily. Sam's soul mate. _Mate_. Why do all sayings have to revolve around the animal world?

"Sam, when you imprint, what if you don't know the person. Like you've never met them before."

Everyone besides Quil, Sam and Jared groaned in unison. (_A/N: Jared is the guy who imprinted on Kim. Quil imprinted on Claire and Sam on Emily. The only three, I think, in the pack that have imprinted.)_

"It doesn't matter," Sam replied, shooting a sharp look around the table. "It's hard to resist that level of commitment and adoration."

"Right, Emily?" Jared put in.

Emily just nodded from where she was leaning against the counter, lost in thought.

"And you're sure, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. But maybe you'll be like Jared and it won't even matter."

Jared grinned wildly and looked down at his plate. I stood up to stretch. After five plates of eggs, a package of bacon, seven links of sausage and enough milk to keep a small class from going thirsty in a week, I was full. I figured I'd go for a quick run.

* * *

_**DESTINY CARLSON**_

I was on my way back from the beach when I saw wolf tracks. The only problem was that the wolf tracks were bigger than my foot. They looked fresh and they were going the direction I was headed, so I turned, frightened and walked into the forest. I pulled up my hair in a large black clip that I kept in my bag. If I was going to be hiking, I wasn't going to have my hair constantly swinging in my face. Walking into the forest was my first mistake.

I walked for about five minutes before I was significantly lost. I turned around a full 360 degrees without finding anything that would help me determine where I was. I sucked air in deep, down to my diaphragm.

"HELLOOOOOOOOO?" I yelled, with all my force. The only response was a wolf howling – it sounded nearby – and echoes of my frightened yell.

I started walking in the opposite direction of the wolf's howl; that was one thing I didn't want to meet in the dark. I walked into a clearing, pulling out my cell-phone. Despite the fact that I was reluctant to accept help from Edward and Bella, they might be able to get me out of this.

I heard a ghostly chuckle – inhumanly beautiful – like chimes – and something caught the clip under my hair, crumbling the beautiful clip to dust.

"Hello beautiful," a voice as beautiful as Edward's crooned into my ear from behind. "How's it goin'?"

But I couldn't answer. I was too scared to even breathe.

"I bet you taste wonderful," he crooned, stroking my neck with ice-cold fingers. I gulped, not knowing where this strange man was going with this.

I heard a low growl growing in volume and something soft and warm brush the back of my neck as the cold fingers were knocked away, throwing me roughly on the ground. What I saw terrified me even more. A beautiful man, who could have been Edward's cousin, lay on the ground, pinned under an enormous sandy colored wolf.

I had to turn away from the terrifying sight. Two hunters, fighting each other for the prey – me. I still heard a sound like stone being forcibly torn apart. I was shaking in time with the growls ripping out of the wolf and man's throats. I heard the wolf whine and the animal-lover side of me wanted to turn around and see what had happened, but the scared-stiff part of me wouldn't let me do anything.

The growling stopped. I still didn't turn around. I was rooted into place by fear. Nothing but silence burned in my ears for a few minutes. Then I heard a boy muttering under his breath. The clicking of a lighter echoed in the clearing and thick purple smoke filled the air. A few more minutes of no sound but the crackling, hissing fire. Then, something warm and soft nudged me from behind.

I turned around to see the wolf. It looked at me with a strange light in its black eyes. Almost intelligent.

"Don't hurt me. Please," I pleaded.

The wolf looked at me for a few seconds and then shook its head.

"Did – did you just shake your head?"

The wolf nodded. I tried to stand up. When I did get on my feet, a sharp pain shot through my right foot. I hissed in pain. Too much pain. My vision went black.

I woke up in the dark. My leg was being probed by cold fingers. I sat up, hissing when it hurt. The same Indian boy who had been coming off the plane at the airport was leaning against the wall, looking at me with a mixed expression of anxiety and adoration. He didn't realize that I was awake yet. Edward's father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen stood at the foot of my bed, examining my leg.

I moaned when he probed an excruciatingly painful part of my leg.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked.

"She was about to be killed. By _your_ kind," the boy cursed.

"Alice didn't see anyone new in the area."

"But that little physic leech can't see us either, can she?"

"Calm down, Seth. I can't have you hurting her right now. She has a broken leg."

"If the bloodsucker wasn't here, it wouldn't have happened."

"I can't help that now. The most you can do now is try not to phase. If you phase like this, you could hurt her. And you don't want to do that – do you?"

"No," the boy, Seth, mumbled.

"Carlisle?" I murmured.

"Yeah, Destiny. I'm right here."

"I broke my leg?"

Carlisle and Seth exchanged a glance.

"I need to go get materials for the cast. I'll just leave you two alone," Carlisle said, backing out the door. "Careful, Seth."

"Where am I?" I asked the boy. "I need to call Bella. She'll be wondering where I am."

"You're at Emily's house. Sam Uley's fiancé-"

He looked like he wanted to say more, but couldn't figure out how to say it. Before he had a chance to continue, Carlisle was back, faster than was possible.

"Sam's talking to the others. I'll call Edward and explain; he can't hear me from here."

Carlisle walked out of the room, whipping out a tiny silver cell-phone. The boy called Seth didn't say any more.

"Edward? Can I talk to Bella?" Carlisle said quietly. "Oh, then, can you just tell her that Destiny's over here at Emily's place…yes…She was attacked by a nomad…yes…She's fine. Seth saved her…Yeah. Just a broken leg is all…okay then, bye."

Carlisle walked back in the room carrying a medical bag.

"Sweetie. I'm gonna need to anesthetize you to work with your leg. Seth accidentally knocked the bones out of place."

Seth growled from the back of his throat, clenching his fists. His body was shaking. Either that or I was. Carlisle held my leg steady and I felt a sharp prick down by my ankle. Another blonde walked in the door. This one was probably in his early 20's. He placed a heavy hand on Seth's shaking shoulder.

"Easy, Seth."

And then, so quietly I might have imagined it, Seth muttered something that sounded astonishingly like, "Stupid vampires."

* * *

_A/N: And that's all folks. (Whoa. That sounded very stupid. Disregard that.) Anyways, if you're reading this, please, please, please review! I'm seriously begging you here! Oh, and if you're on IMDb, check out Morgyn's story, too. She has 20 chapters done and she's the most amazing authress (if that's a word) ever._

_Have fun and please, please, read_

_Maddie_


	3. Announcements

_A/N: Hey guys, this is Maddie (obviously) and I just wanted to tell you that I came up with this before I started to write this before Breaking Dawn. This isn't going to be anything like BD I'm afraid. Hope you'll still read it...wait, no one's reading it. (_

**DESTINY CARLSON**

When I woke up, it wasn't dark any more. I heard chatter coming from the kitchen. Something pushed in the back of my mind – a dream to be remembered – as I looked around the beautiful room. I was lying on a queen-sized bed with turquoise patterned walls. The walls themselves were adorned with pictures that looked like they could have been taken of the beach in La Push. The bed was a beautiful sea green and the carpet in the room was a sandy color. The entire room reminded me of the ocean. It was beautiful.

All of the sudden, the chattering in the next room was joined by the clinking and clanging of silverware scraping against plates. I heard a loud burp and someone yell "Paul!" I didn't recognize the voice or the name.

The dream was being very annoying, so I shoved it to the back of my mind, glancing out the window. It wasn't sunny, from what I could see of the sky out the large window; the clouds covered the sky, but in very thin, wispy strips, revealing some of the rich blue sky along the green line of the trees. Forks was truly one of the most beautiful places in the world. One of my social studies teachers, before the school year had ended, said that she was jealous of Bella because she got to move to the only place in America with a rainforest. I promised I'd keep in touch with her over the summer and throughout the rest of my life.

Ms. Chrisman was very young and beautiful. She looked somewhat like me, with the brown hair and the blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Ms. Chrisman was mature, whereas I was immature and selfish at best. I resigned to send Ms. C. pictures of the forest and the sky here. Maybe, if the pictures on the walls were truly pictures of the beach around here, I could get the photographer to take some pictures for me on my digital camera. I was willing to pay them. It would be worth it; Ms. Chrisman would love the pictures.

"Maybe you should go check on her now," a calm voice spoke in the front room, louder than the rest, "or Embry's going to eat all of her waffles."

I was oblivious as the voice speaking brought back the dream. I had been chased by a large wolf – or was it a boy? And I had nearly been killed. Vampires, leeches and bloodsuckers had been mentioned. Carlisle was there, as were two Indian boys from La Push. Both their names started with the same letter, but I couldn't think of the letter right then.

One of the tallest boys I had ever seen appeared in the doorway, only clad in a pair of cutoff sweats – no shirt, no shoes, a mixed look of adoration and commitment on his face. I hadn't seen anyone look at anyone else like that in my life and here, now, this boy I hadn't even met yet was looking at me like he had known me his entire life, like he had been in pain and suddenly the pain was gone. There are truly no earthly words for the way that boy looked at me, or how it made me feel, but I can try.

The way he looked at me was amazing. This look made me forget all about everything else around me, the fact that my leg hurt for an unknown reason, the fact that I was in an unknown house surrounded by unknown people. This look narrowed the world down to him, standing in the doorway, and me, lying helplessly on the bed. This look made me feel like I was floating, flying through the air. I was the most important person in the world. In _his_ world – and that was all that mattered. I know it was stupid, but it was like love at first sight, only more powerful, though, I was sure this was _not_ in fact, the first time I had seen this boy. I had to work my mind pretty hard just to remember how to breathe.

He leaned on the doorway, smiling at me.

"You'd better hurry up or Embry's going to eat your breakfast. He's the biggest eater out of all of us," he paused. "Well, _now_ he is."

"Sorry. Your name fails me…sorry."

"Seth Andrew Clearwater."

"I didn't need your full name."

"Well you got it. You coming or not?"

I tried to stand up, but when I pulled the cover back, the source of the irritation on my leg became clear. I had a large blue cast on the lower part of my leg.

"Oops. Forgot about that. Sorry."

He walked over, extending a hand to me. I swear I had a heart-attack and died. I took his hand and he pulled me back up, slinging one arm over his shoulder and swinging me up into his other arm.

"Crutches are in the kitchen," he explained. "Carlisle told me to keep you off your feet."

"'_Keep_'" I muttered, "Not _sweep._"

"You say something?"

"Nope." Unlike Bella, I had always been a good liar. I actually went to a few acting camps and had gotten the lead parts in plays several times. Acting was my pride and joy, and, to keep the skill clean and polished, I practiced it almost religiously, lying as much as I could sometimes. My New Year's resolution from…was it three years ago?...was to stop lying. I'm still working on that.

As we walked through the door, we were greeted by stares of a large group of people – all boys except for one – seated around a battered wooden table filled with food. I counted the boys in my head – seven. Leaning against a counter was a beautiful girl. Well, one side of her face was beautiful; the other was a wasted mass of scars and scratches.

_It's rude to stare_. I reminded myself. I was a guest in this house and was going to resist being rude to anyone as much as I could.

Crutches were leaning against the wall next to the beautiful girl. The girl handed a boy, the other blonde boy from my dream, the crutches as he stood up. The boy named Seth sat me down on my feet and the other boy put the crutches under my arms for me.

"So," the boy said. "I suppose you need introductions."

I nodded, going over to the girl. I had been on crutches before, when I had broken my ankle – the one on the other leg, actually.

"This is Paul, Jared, Embry, Daniel, Drew and Zane," he said, pointing them all out to me. "We're missing Leah, Seth's older sister. I'm Sam," he said, walking over to the girl and kissing her gently once on the wasted side of her face. "And this is Emily, my fiancé."

I groaned. I was met with several puzzled expressions.

"My cousin's getting married soon," I explained. "I've heard that word all too many times lately."

"Really? Who's your cousin?" the boy named Embry asked, shoving an entire waffle into his mouth.

"Isabella Swan. She's getting married to Edward Cullen."

The entire group of boys stared at me. Well, I wouldn't really call them a 'group of boys'. These friends were so close, they could have been brothers. They carried themselves more like a family than anything else. The silence in the small kitchen was deafening. Then, all the sudden, 'Quil' laughed, breaking the silence – a loud, boisterous laugh. Soon, all the others followed. I just looked around curiously.

"A vampire girl and a wolf girl in the same family!" Zane roared.

"Wait! What?!"

Seth looked down, his fingers at his temples. "It's not like I've had a chance to talk to her, yet, guys."

"So she didn't know about-"

Seth cut Daniel off with a shake of his head.

"Or about the-"

Paul was cut off the same way.

"Well then take her down to the beach and tell her, then," Sam commanded. I got the feeling he was the leader.

"Going right now."

Seth walked up to me and took my crutches, sticking his arm through the large holes at the top and swung me up in his arms, same as before. Quil stood up to open the door for us. Seth was crazy fast, even walking. He sat me down on a white log, bleached by years of salt water.

"You promised Sam you would explain," I reminded him.

"Ever heard of werewolves?" he asked after a long, shaky, deep breath.

"Uh, yeah. Humans until full moon, full moon they become these monster type things, they're evil. Stuff like that; right?"

He winced when I mentioned monsters.

"Not quite. Um…we're kind of…protectors. I don't know how to explain it. We can change into a wolf whenever we have strong feelings. And we're not really evil. The vampires are the bad-guys. Err…sometimes they are…The Cullens, they're the big exception. Though those leeches – err, vampires are the reason the werewolves exist" he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.

I can't believe it. The one guy who made me feel special was completely off his rocker. I grabbed my crutches, which were leaning against the log, and scrambled to my feet. I had babysat down by Thousand Hills when I was on crutches previously, so hobbling towards Bella's house wouldn't be hard. It would hurt and I would probably have blisters. I would have to leave my purse behind. I'm sure Seth would send it back to Bella or something.

One guy likes me and that one guy is completely crazy. Him and whatever-their-names-were were clearly a part of a creepy cult that worships evil creatures. Even the idea that the Cullens were vampires was completely crazy. They may be creepy and a little bit weird, but _vampires?_ Puh-lease. I had never seen _fangs._ And the Cullens were completey fine with being around humans. For goodness sake: Bella was marrying that weirdo! I would have to talk to Bella or maybe even Charlie. These people were _mad_. It would be safer for everyone if they were just locked up in a nice, padded room – preferably in a straight-jacket.

I didn't get all the way back to Bella's house until Edward's silver Volvo pulled up alongside the road. I stopped. He reached across the car to unlatch the door.

"Want a ride?" he asked, sympathetically, with a look on his face that didn't totally match his tone of voice, but also one that I couldn't completely pick out.

I nodded, my vision going blurry. This was madness! Why was I crying?

I handed him my crutches, balancing myself against the door of the Volvo as he took the crutches and placed them gently in the back seat. I climbed in and shut the door behind me. He wasn't driving at his usual I'm-out-to-break-a-speed-detector speed, which surprised me.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened, or not?"

"I don't like those La Push boys."

"Neither do I. But what happened? You just met them just this morning."

"They're like a part of this weird cult or something. They worship these werewolf type things and they think they _are_ werewolves. It's really creepy. And they all eat _so much_ but they're all really, really, thin – well, except for their muscles. And they hang out with a girl that looks like she was mauled by a bear. And they said you were a vampire."

We pulled into the Cullen's house just then. I hadn't noticed that, through my slow explanation of the day's events, he had been accelerating. Bella ran out of the house. When I got out of the car with my crutches, she embraced me – very out of character.

"I was so worried. When Carlisle called and told me you broke your leg, I couldn't figure out what happened."

"Bella," Edward said.

Bella looked up at him.

"Sam imprinted," he informed her. "I heard it in his mind – felt it."

I knew what the individual words ment. Imprinted was like embossed. But I didn't understand the words in that context. How can a human 'emboss'. How do you 'hear someone's mind'?

"He tried to tell her what was going on, but she got scared and walked away. He let her because he was too occupied with thoughts of why she'd left. She never got far away from him. When I picked her up, I could still hear him."

Okay, that's it. Now I was just getting a headache. Was today, like, confuse-Destiny-wildly-out-of-her-mind day?

"I don't think I understand," I cut in, looking up at Edward.

All the sudden, Jasper was next to me with Alice on the other side.

_How did they get here so fast?_

Edward started somewhat nervously. "You have to understand that everything we say from this point on is true. Okay?"

I nodded helplessly as a wave of calm washed over me; Edward's eyes were…dazzling me…I think that's what Bella referred to the smoldering look in Edward's golden eyes. Bella looked over at Jasper with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged.

"Alice said it would be necessary."

Alice nodded from by my elbow. My head was spinning; Alice hadn't said anything.

"Are you ready, Destiny?"

I nodded once more.

"Seth did not lie to you. Every word he said was true. He and the rest of them _are_ werewolves. And we," he motioned to the rest of his family, which had assembled around us, "_are_ vampires."

I simply couldn't take any more. I blacked out for the second time in twelve hours. Pathetic.

_A/N: Why do I get the feeling that no one is reading this? If you're reading this, could you please _please_ comment. Please! Anyways, In and Out, X's and O's_

Maddie


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